PaigeAs I expected, Sera Bianchi’s number was not only programmed into the phone Tom had given me, but added to my starred contacts. I trudged into my room and shut the door behind me. Tom said she’d patched him up after a gunshot wound and saved his life. Dr. Martinez might do house calls, but I doubted she did them on short notice, so having Sera nearby would hopefully bridge the gap. I had no idea who the mafia men used for their doctor when Sera wasn’t around, but if it wasn’t a woman, it wouldn’t work anyway.I dialed and held the phone to my ear with my eyes closed.“Paige!” Sera picked up almost immediately. “I’ve been waiting for you to call. How are things?”“Good, good,” I said automatically. “So—”“So, I heard from Killian that Tommaso said you might be willing to think about going shopping soon!” she trilled. “I was so glad to hear you’re finally on the upswing. I was thinking you, me, Olivia, and Penny could really tear up the town.”“Totally,” I said mostly to make her
TommasoOn Friday morning after Paige’s therapy, I sat at my desk, tying up a few loose ends. I hadn’t heard anything from Tony yet, but if I had to guess, I’d say the bastard would keep me waiting as long as possible as some kind of punishment for making him show me his set-up in the first place. He definitely seemed to want the “product” I “had,” but he also seemed like a petty piece of shit.The door to my office opened, and I looked up, expecting Miranda with the espresso I’d requested. Instead, Killian stepped in, wearing the sort of scowl I knew meant he wasn’t pleased. Part of me, the part that knew I was sitting in my own goddamn house running my own goddamn operation, wanted to demand what the hell he was doing here. The rest of me just saw my pissed-off boss—former boss.Killian dropped into one of the leather armchairs across from my desk. “What the fuck have you gotten yourself into now?”“What?” The tips of my ears warmed.“I’m not stupid, Tommaso.” Killian plucked a pen
PaigeSomeone knocked on my door in the middle of my workday on Friday, so I stood to open it.“Hi!” Sera wrapped me in a perfume-scented hug.I tried to extricate myself. “Uh, hi. What are you—”She bustled inside with a large tote bag that didn’t match her perfect, deep red pantsuit and began laying things out on the kitchenette counter of my suite. “Today’s the day, right? I wanted to go over the plan.”“Oh.” I drifted over to the counter with her.“So, it’s a little short-notice, but I was able to get six of my friends—well, five and my mom—to offer their services.” She laid out a list of names, each of which had four or five bullet points underneath it. “I didn’t know exactly what kind of space we were working with, so I figured a list with everyone’s skills would be most useful.” She grinned at me. “In terms of other stuff, I put together this care package”—she pulled out a pink mesh bag that looked like it had been made for makeup—“for each of the women. I know you said you did
PaigeMy mouth crashed into Tom’s, and our teeth clacked together painfully. For a split second, I thought he was going to shove me back and keep arguing. Instead, he grabbed me and lifted me so I could reach his mouth more easily. I wrapped my legs around his waist and devoured him like he was food and I’d never eaten before. His tongue moved in rhythm with mine, meeting me stroke for stroke. I wound my hands into his hair and pulled. He hissed and nipped my bottom lip.The spark of pain mixed with the pleasure mingled, became something more intoxicating still. He wouldn’t hurt me worse than I wanted, than I could handle.All of Tom’s gentle restraint seemed to have disappeared. He shoved a hand up under my sweater with no warning, his massive palm warm against my stomach. I moaned and arched into him. He made a low, ravenous sound.I pulled back from his lips and began kissing the rest of his face, his neck. It took all my failing brain cells to remember not to sink my teeth into th
TommasoI climbed out of my black sedan and double-checked the address Tony had sent me on my phone. The grungy cement rectangle squatted on a garbage-filled plot of land just to the north of the city. I grimaced and dialed Lyle. If Tony was even worth the relatively little amount of credit we gave him, he’d check me for wires, but if I left a call open, Lyle would know when to move.“Ready?” he said as he picked up the call.“Ready.” I slipped my phone into my back pocket without hanging up and knocked on the door in the pattern Tony gave me with the address.The metal door creaked open.“Hey, Tommaso!” Tony grinned at me.I forced myself to smile back. He’d given up the faint concession to professionalism—a button-down shirt I always saw him in at my warehouses—for a thin, grimy wifebeater. At least he didn’t ask to shake my hand. I started to step in.“Ah!” Tony held up a metal detector wand. “Mind?”“Since you’ve been so gracious.” I held up my arms and let him run the wand over m
PaigeI tapped a frantic pattern on my jeans, waiting for the signal from Tommaso. According to Lyle, who I’d bribed with promises of backdoor access to the slate of programs Henley and Stephenson gave me for free, he’d just gone in. Sera sat in the front seat, almost frozen, like she had been the whole time. When I told her I was going to sit outside, she insisted on coming with, to give me moral support, but she’d gone still as soon as we got in this van. It seemed like she needed the support more than I did. Killian gripped the wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white, and released it again. Clearly, he’d rather be inside, but Tom said he didn’t have enough uniforms to add another cop to the roster. I thought he just didn’t want to be under his old boss’s heavy gaze. Olivia had also tagged along, though she intended to stay in the car the whole time. I thought she must be there for moral support.The sharp crack of gunfire split the air. Sera turned green. My blood froze. Eons pa
PaigeI stumbled into the door of Tom’s house my heart pounding in my chest. We weren’t nearly done yet. Olivia grabbed my arm and helped me into a chair.“You’ve got this, Paige,” she whispered. “You got them in the van, and now they’re here.”I laughed breathlessly. At least the women in my van had seemed to calm down once the men were out of sight.Sera stepped in with a few of the women. “Where do we want them? The rest of my friends are on the way.”I swallowed. “Den, for now.”The next hour passed in a blur. The women poured into the den, then out of it for showers. Sera’s little kidnapping goodie bags ended up being really helpful for keeping track of things. I passed around a couple permanent markers and watched the women scribble their names on every single item in the bags just for the thrill of doing it, of having a name you could call yourself again. My throat grew thick as I watched one woman, Andi, who told me later in a whisper that she had been pregnant when they took
TommasoAll the guys who’d helped that night with the raid crowded into my office, and I passed out glasses of my favorite scotch. Killian took a whiff and grimaced playfully. Even though we had to hide out here to keep from scaring the women in the den, there was a celebratory mood in the air. We’d done it! Not only had we gotten all the women out and taken Tony down, we’d gotten off basically scot-free. Vince got winged, but we didn’t even need to interrupt Sera to patch him up. Teddy had done it with a splash of cheap vodka and a couple wound closure strips.“All right.” I lifted my glass. “To the Conti syndicate.”“Conti!” Everyone knocked their glasses together and drank.“Stan, progress report?” I took my seat.He cleared his throat. “I’ve put word out through the appropriate channels, and the Philly PD is claiming a massive success in taking down a sex trafficking ring just outside the city.”The men cheered again.“That doesn’t mean there won’t be questions,” I said. “When som